Practical Life: Care of Self - Dressing Frames

A traditional Montessori dressing frame - the button frame

A student wearing the zipper vest while doing the drying the cloths activity

Direct Objectives: Development of order, concentration, coordination, and independence. Development of pincer grip.

Indirect Objectives: Development of the ability to fasten/unfasten. Development of mathematical mind with one to one correspondence.

In a Montessori environment, you usually see dressing frames (a wooden frame, 12 x 12 with two panels of fabric fastened with a variety of fasteners – buttons, zippers, snapping, hook and eye, buckle, safety pin, and bow tying, etc.) The child begins with the large button frame and continues on through the bow tying frame.

However, in my classroom, I wanted the dressing tools to be even more true-to-life, so I had one of the preschool mothers make a set of dressing vests. I've found that the students are much more likely to pick the dressing vests than they were to pick the dressing frames.

Tuesday - Introduction to Practical Life

The Practical Activities are the first activities the child is introduced to in the Montessori environment. These skills allow the child to become more self-sufficient. The Practical Life Activities allow the child to do things that the child sees the adult do every day – dressing oneself, cleaning the house, and greeting people. Because of this, the Practical Life Activities should use real, child-sized, working tools, not toy versions of adult tools. The child enjoys the PROCESS of the practical life activities, and often is not concerned with the results.

According to the Practical Life Early Childhood manual available through Montessori Research and Development, the Practical Life Activities are broken down in the following areas: Control of Movement – whole hand grasp, three-finger grasp, wrist movement, and arm movement, Care of Environment, Care of Self, and Grace and Courtesy.